Randall City Megadome
The Randall City Megadome, commonly called the Megadome, was a domed sports venue located in downtown Randall City, Washington. Opened in 1982, it replaced City Park which was the first professional sports stadium in the city. The Megadome was the home of the NAFL's Randall City Reign for 30 seasons before being replaced by the retractable roof stadium, Mtn Dew Stadium. The stadium was also home to the Randall City Sea Dogs of the NASL (3 seasons), the APSL/A-League (15 seasons) and PDL (7 seasons), the Randall City Orcas (21 seasons) of the Pacific Coast League, and the Randall City Lightning (11 seasons) of the Western State Hockey League. History On July 17, 1978, Randall City was awarded an expansion team for the 1980 North American Football League season. As part of the deal, construction on the Megadome began less than a monther later to accomodate the new team. Construction took longer than expected and the stadium didn't open until 1982 and the Reign began play at the stadium in the fall of 1983. The Megadome hosted the NAFL championship game five different times: January 20, 1984 when the Minnesota Timbers defeated the Boston Braves; January 26, 1990 when the Charlotte Speedsters defeated the Juneau Whalers in overtime; February 2, 1996 when the Florida SwordFish defeated the barnstorming Alaska Miners; January 28, 2005 when the Toronto Toros defeated the Boston Braves; and on January 30, 2009 when host team Randall City defeated the Toronto Toros. The North American Soccer League championship was hosted twice at the Megadome: 1989 and 1993. The stadium was eventuallly replaced by the baseball-specific Pepsi Ballpark in 2009 and the football-specific Mtn Dew Stadium in 2012. The Megadome was destroyed via implosion on April 15, 2012 Stadium usage Randall City Reign football The Reign played their first game at the Megadome in a preseason matchup against the Juneau Whalers on September 1, 1983. Randall City won 21-7. The first touchdown in the dome was scored by Joshua Vo on a 21-yard pass from Robert Lynch. The first regular season game at the Megadome was the 1983 opened on September 12 when the Reign defeated the Houston Cyclone 35-21. In 30 seasons at the stadium, the Reign made the playoffs fourteen times and won six league championships. NAFL championship games When the North American Football League still operated under the name of the United States Football League, owners voted to award the 1983 USFL Championship Bowl to Randall City in order to celebrate the opening of the new stadium. It marked the first championship game hosted in Randall City for any sport. The stadium would go on to host the 1989 USFL Championship Bowl, 1995 USFL Bowl, Mega Bowl I, and Mega Bowl V. Randall City Orcas baseball When the Pacific Coast League awarded the expansion Orcas to Randall City in 1988, the Megadome was highly appreciated for the protection it gave from mosquitoes and rainy weather. As the years went on, however, more and more baseball fans detested the stadium. The white roof caused players to lose sight on flyballs and the sight lines were poor for fans due to being so far removed from the playing field. Complaints from fans and players caused the team to propose three different stadium replacements in 1996 and 2005 before opening Pepsi Ballpark in 2009. Randall City SeaDogs soccer The SeaDogs of the North American Soccer League played 12 season inside the Megadome before being replaced by a team of the same name in the United Soccer League. As a soccer facility, the Megadome was favored by some but also hated by other. Most fans praised the stadium, calling it a major improvement over City Park while others said that the sheer size of the stadium made it uncomfortable for soccer; only 24,000-31,000 seats were used for soccer games while the whole stadium could hold 68,000 people. Despite complaints from some over the size of the stadium, the team never proposed their own stadium and continued to play at the dome until 2011 when their MLS replacement moved into Mtn Dew Stadium with the Reign. Randall City Lightning hockey When the Western States Hockey League awarded the expansion Lightning to Randall City in 1998, many criticized the dome as a hockey venue. Nearby bleacher seats had a suitable view of the rink but the action was difficult to see in the upper decks and very far away. Also, concessions were very far away from the temporary infrastructure. The team lost more games that it won in nine of eleven seasons at the stadium. Notable events Capacity Football *68,000 Soccer *24,781 (1983-1994) *31,000 (1995-2011) Baseball *12,560 Hockey *14,987 Basketball *15,394 Replacement stadiums Pepsi Ballpark The Randall City Orcas first proposed a new stadium in 1996 that would have been built at City Park and contain an 18,500-seat stadium and a 300-seat community softball field. A lack of funding caused the team to abandon the plans. The second proposal for a stadium came in 2005 but the city voted against the new 15,000-seat stadium. Another proposal was floated in 2007 with a 22,500-seat stadium that eventually became the 20,125-seat Pepsi Ballpark. Burger Zone Arena In 2002, the Randall City Lightning proposed a 20,000-seat arena nicknamed the "Thunderdome" that would've been built next door to the Megadome. The team couldn't secure funding so plans were abandoned. Another proposal was floated in 2007 and was approved: the Burger Zone Arena then opened in 2009. Mtn Dew Stadium The Randall City Reign proposed a new 40,000-seat retractable roof stadium in 1994 but plans quickly fell through. Around the same time the Orcas proposed their stadium in 2005, the Reign also proposed their own stadium. The 32,000-seat facility would've been open-aired and built over the site of the Megadome but the city voted against it. Another stadium was proposed in 2007 and construction began in 2009: Mtn Dew Stadium then opened in 2012. It also became home to the Randall City SeaDogs FC. Category:Sports venues in Randall City